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Niaz Baloch, Coordinator of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) Foreign Department and a Central Committee Member, highlighted the alarming human rights situation in Balochistan, during the 58th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.
In his intervention, Niaz called attention to the systematic repression of political dissent by the Pakistani state, citing severe violations of fundamental freedoms. He stated that political organisations such as the Baloch Students Organisation-Azad (BSO-A) and the BNM continue to face relentless persecution, with their members being arbitrarily detained, harassed, and silenced. "Enforced disappearances have become a systematic tool of oppression in Balochistan," Baloch said, emphasizing the gravity of the situation. He highlighted the recent disappearances of Beeberg Zehri, a Central Committee member of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, and his brother, Hammal Zehri, a scientist. Additionally, Ilyas Baloch, a prominent psychiatrist and Vice Principal of Bolan Medical College, was also among those forcibly disappeared, along with more than a dozen members of the Qambarani family. Human rights campaigner Saeeda Baloch and her sister were reportedly arrested. Extrajudicial killings by state-backed death squads further illustrate the dire human rights crisis, Baloch noted. He cited the brutal killing of Shah Jahan Baloch, the brother of BSO Azad's missing chairman Zahid Baloch, in Naal as an example of the collective punishment inflicted upon Baloch families. "These killings and enforced disappearances are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate state policy to terrorize the Baloch population," Baloch asserted. The BNM and other Baloch nationalist groups have long accused the Pakistani government of using enforced disappearances, targeted killings, and intimidation to silence political activists and human rights defenders in the region. International human rights organizations have repeatedly called for independent investigations into these allegations, but the Pakistani authorities continue to deny any involvement. The issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan remains a major concern for human rights bodies and activists, who urge the international community to take immediate action to address these violations. (ANI)
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